MINIRIG

I recently got a YuanJing brand low cost TDA8920 based board from ebay. This is a fairly basic low frills build but worth documenting for those interested.

I’d already wired up the case for my second ConnexElectronics TDA8920 board when I managed to fry the board. Out of curiousity I decided to check out this lower cost board that was going cheap cheap ($19USD + $9USD postage), as I could use the transformer I’d already mounted in the case as they are similar units.

This is the board on ebay:
TDA8920 Class D Amplifier board/ audio Power AMP 2X100W - eBay Power Amplifiers, Amplifiers, Home Audio, Electronics. (end time 19-Jul-10 02:14:45 AEST)

It has a smaller heatsink than the connex module, and smaller PSU 4700uF caps.

Initially it sounded OK, but not as good as the Connex module, quite a bit more grainy.. also interestingly it uses 5W power even when silent, and hence (with the smaller heatsink) runs a lot hotter.
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I recently got some Dick Smith Electronics A2667 bookshelf speakers cheapish ($20AUD) off Ebay. For a bit of fun I thought I’d see how much better I could make these low cost “made in china” (though not quite white van) speakers sound.

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I recently ordered one of these modules after being very impressed with the sound of an earlier version of this module I borrowed from Col. It’s an amp module using the Tripath TA3020 IC, which can do up to 110W at 8Ω, with max. 0.1% THD, though I’m more interested in the 50W per channel it can do with just 0.02% THD.

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This one has been on the back burner for a while as Iv’e assembled it a few times and then discovered ground loops. Now all cured (click-pic)

Recently, I have been busy working on a new minirig PA which was going to be called v7 and was almost compleated as a 3 way active. Now Iv’e decided to skip v7 altogether and move straight to V8.

Minirig V8 will be a 4 way active. Over the Australia Day weekend I finished retro-fitting this pair of 4 way mono crossovers which will be at the heart of the system. (click pic)

After experimenting with various combos of crossover values, although the MK I cheapowave using the Pyle PDS221 compression driver sounded OK.. the high end was never really impressing me.
Note: this post continues on from cheapowave MK I postwhich documents building the cabinets etc

After reviewing the Econowave thread on Audiokarma yet again I ordered in a  Selenium D220Ti-8 from Parts Express in the USA. The shipping cost almost as much as the drivers themselves.. but although I could probably find a more than acceptable replacement from the P.Audio drivers from Cannon Online, I decided to go with a combination that already has shown so many good results for others, plus the hard yards on the crossover circuit has already been done by people with way more expertise than myself.

The Selenium drivers arrived, and the immediate impression is that they are bigger then the Pyles.

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These speakers have been a favourite of mine for ages. I got them over a decade ago second hand for $600. Given they are now at least 12 years old and probably more I decided to replace the capacitors in them. As stock they are KSC 50V non polar electrolytics.

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I while back I got some JPW Sonata speakers from EBAY for $67 AUD. They are nice “entry level” English bookshelf speakers of reasonable quality…

Laurie Anderson is sitting on my bed singing to me this evening. Earlier Tom Waits popped in.

Basically, I am gobsmacked by these little sealed boxes. I don’t know if it’s because they are in a small, quiet bedroom, mounted on a solid wall, or because they have an Audio Innovations amplifier powering them. They are sublime and emit this beautiful warmth and richness that makes me not want to leave the room.

I’m not quite as impressed as the above reviewer, but they are very nice little speakers for the size and price, especially for acoustic music.

And the sealed enclosure means they mate very well with a subwoofer.

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Goals:

Learn about making speakers by building some 2 way speakers using some low cost drivers using ideas borrowed from the AudioKarma Econowave project. And make some full sounding floor standing speakers by virtue of big cabinets and large drivers.
Results:

BASS!!

And knowing a hell of a lot more about speakers than I did 6 months ago. Thanks to Col for all the help and hints in getting this off the ground.
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I got one of these kits from Col for the  Elliot Sound Products Project88 preamp and soldered it up.. a relatively easy build after the ALIEN DAC.

Definately has a bit of the DIY kit feel about the unit, but, it sounds great.

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